‘I Trust Him’: Abou Ousmane on His Yearslong Relationship with Steve Lutz

STILLWATER — In Abou Ousmane’s final season at North Texas, the Mean Green played slower than any team in the country. Now he plays in the second-fastest team in the Big 12.

Ousmane has handled the transition well. He’s Oklahoma State’s leading scorer and rebounder this season, averaging 12.6 points and 6.1 boards a game. Between his time in Denton and his time in Stillwater, Ousmane played a quick pace at Xavier. First-year OSU coach Steve Lutz said he has long known Ousmane could handle the system.

“I knew Abou from, No. 1, high school,” Lutz said. “Then I tried to get him when he left North Texas and went to Xavier, and then obviously when he became available after Xavier, I had vetted him plenty. But yeah, as I spent two and a half hours this morning watching the portal and watching these big kids that are possibly going to become available, yeah I’ll spend a lot of time vetting because I think when we run in transition, bigs and wings included, we’re much better than when we walk it up the floor and have to call sets.”

Sometimes Ousmane is tasked with being one of the first Cowboys down the floor to seal his man in the lane and clear room for a running guard. On other possessions, Ousmane acts as the trail man and isn’t too frightened to to step into a 3 from that spot. In his first four seasons of college basketball, Ousmane attempted six 3s with only one falling. This season alone, he is 8-for-13 (62%) from long range.

His emergence is particularly important for the Cowboys because there aren’t a ton of center options outside of Ousmane. Patrick Suemnick has acted as the Cowboys second center. Listed at 6-foot-8, Suemnick is probably a more natural power forward, but he has played plenty of center throughout his career. He’s had solid moments this season, like scoring 10 points in 15 minutes during OSU’s win against Colorado, but Lutz said last week that OSU needs more out of the position.

Building up to that fast pace, Ousmane said Lutz’s offseason conditioning was the hardest he has had to go through at this point, but he seems to be handling all the running well.

“Coach Steve Lutz has been a straight shooter ever since I’ve met him,” Ousmane said. “Everything he says to me, I believe in. It just wasn’t the time (to play for Lutz ahead of this season). God finds ways, and I ended up here. Relationship with him is pretty good. I trust him, believe in him and I’m gonna keep working hard for him. …

“Coming out of North Texas, we had the slowest pace in the country. So, he was at Western Kentucky, he told me the way he was playing. It was for sure in the back of my mind that this was going to be a transition, a difference, but I always knew I would be able to play in any type of play style, honestly.”

Having known Lutz since he was a high schooler, what made now the time for Ousmane to join him in Stillwater?

“I took my time in the transfer portal this time around,” Ousmane said. “It was really just him and this coaching staff that really showed me they were gonna pour a lot of energy into me. He made me believe in it.”

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Opponent: Kansas State
Time: 7 p.m. Wednesday
Location: Bramlage Coliseum in Manhattan, Kansas
Watch: CBS Sports Network